Scott's Spotlight #2-- Porcupine Tree
Originally posted to Facebook on September 12, 2024.
Link to Post:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/9jKzwHaKyZsgfLAH/
Welcome to Scott’s Spotlight #2 (#scottsspotlight). For more information about what I’m doing, see this post: https://www.facebook.com/share/Gc2VkwHQWGLdeaDd/?mibextid=oFDknk
In the spotlight today is Porcupine Tree. This is a band that is no stranger to my proggy friends, as they are one of the most popular and influential modern prog bands… However, my non-prog oriented friends might have never heard of them.
Porcupine Tree is a joke…or at least it began that way. This story begins in the mind of one Steven Wilson (Born in London, England, UK, on November 3 1967). Back in 1987, Wilson and his friend, Malcolm Stocks, created a fictional, obscure 1970s prog rock band, called, you guessed it, Porcupine Tree. At the time, Wilson was involved in a musical project called “No Man Is an Island (Except the Isle of Mann)” (Later shortened to No-Man) along with singer/songwriter Tim Bowness. Wilson and Stocks created an elaborate backstory about the “band”. Eventually, Wilson saved enough money to acquire some recording equipment, and began recording music to back up his hoax, with some idea input from Stocks, who also provided some “heavily treated” vocal passages. However, Wilson created and recorded the vast majority of the material on his own (Wilson is a multi-instrumentalist and singer), and any further involvement from Malcolm Stocks is lost to history. Over time, while his main focus was still No-Man, what was originally being done for his own amusement started to become “potentially marketable” to Wilson’s ears, culminating in the first demo tape called “Tarquin’s Seaweed Farm.” One person who Wilson sent the tape to, Nick Saloman (AKA The Bevis Frond), recommended that Wilson send the tape to Richard Allen, who was a writer and magazine publisher connected to two British psychedelic music magazines called “Encyclopedia Psychedelica” and “Freakbeat”. He reviewed the tape and liked most, if not all of the material. Several months later, he contacted Wilson to invite him to include a track on a sampler for a new record label he was forming, called Delerium released in 1991. Allen would become the band’s manager, press agent and promoter and would remain involved in the band’s career until 2004. Delerium signed the “band” (really still just Steven Wilson), and released some singles and EPs, and eventually the first full-length album called “On the Sunday of Life,” in 1992. That album contained material from two demo tapes including the aforementioned “Tarquin’s Seaweed Farm,” and “The Nostalgia Factory.” (A follow up “compilation” called “The Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape” contained the songs not included on “On the Sunday…”
Meanwhile, No-Man was also achieving some success, and signed a publishing deal which Porcupine Tree was able to piggy-back on. Wilson was able to quit his day job and concentrate fully on music. In 1993, the second PT album, “Up the Downstair” was released. This album saw appearances from (ex-Japan) keyboardist Richard Barbieri and Bassist Colin Edwin, who was a school friend of Wilson’s. Around the same time period the “band” released the “maxi-single” “Voyage 34” a 30 minute extended piece about an LSD trip gone wrong.
By December 1993, Barbieri, Edwin and drummer Chris Maitland became live members of PT (Barbieri and Maitland had been part of No-Man’s touring band). In October of 1994, now as a full band, PT released an EP entitled “Moonloop”.It wasn’t until 1995 that PT released the next full album “The Sky Moves Sideways”, which gained more notoriety. This album is partially Wilson solo and partly band effort. The progressive rock community took notice and started referring to the band as the new Pink Floyd, as Wilson says he was really in a Pink Floyd phase at that moment, and he later regretted that that came through in his music so much. The album is often compared to Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” as it is structured similarly, bookended by two halves of a longer piece.
The fourth PT album, “Signify,” is considered the first proper PT “band” album. The 4 members recorded the album as a unit. The album contains the song “Waiting,” which is considered the first proper PT single. “Waiting,” was very successful in the UK and Europe. Following Signify and the live album “Coma Divine-Recorded Live in Rome,” the band parted ways with Delerium records as they felt they had outgrown the label’s resources.
They would record the 5th album throughout 1998, even though they hadn’t signed to a new label. They would sign to K-Scope records (a division of Snapper records that was dedicated to modern progressive rock music.). The resulting album was called “Stupid Dream” and released in the spring of 1999. This album contains two of my favorites “Even Less,” and “Piano Lessons.” This would be followed up with 2000’s “Lightbulb Sun,” which contains another favorite of mine “Shesmovedon.” These 2 albums are considered slightly more commercial than the preceding albums. They would follow those with an album of outtake songs from the two albums called “Recordings,” which includes the full 14 minute version of “Even Less.” which may well be my all time favorite PT track.
In 2002, Chris Maitland was replaced by Gavin Harrison on drums. Additionally, they changed labels again to the major label “Lava Records,” which is related to Atlantic Records. Wilson had recently been working with Prog Metal band Opeth and their leader Michael Akerfeldt, as well as getting into the band Meshuggah. Additionally, his collaboration with Israeli singer Aviv Geffen called Blackfield gave him an outlet for his more pop side such as what was on the 2 previous PT albums. So Wilson & company decided to crank it up and get heavier on the 2002 masterpiece “In Absentia.” This includes my first PT song “Blackest Eyes,” another of my absolute favorites–a real slammer! Also included are “Trains,” and “The Sound of Muzak.” It was around this time that I became aware of PT, as they opened for Yes on some shows, even though I didn’t see them. (This one along with the next few were reviewed by me on the #100greatestprogrocchallenge at the following link https://www.facebook.com/share/aUKjLPTS4FqGQ5h7/?mibextid=oFDknk .)
I would recommend this album as a starting point if you want to check out PT.
Next up is “Deadwing” in 2005, also on Lava. PT had really hit their stride with Deadwing becoming their highest selling album yet. Some of my favorites on this one include “Lazarus,” “Halo,” and “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here.” (Review link: https://www.facebook.com/share/GVYKuposU3rfSkig/?mibextid=oFDknk)
“Fear of a Blank Planet” comes next in 2007, this time on Roadrunner Records in the UK, and Atlantic Records in the US. (Review link https://www.facebook.com/share/p/i2VK41WjBTqurw95/?mibextid=oFDknk) This is an absolutely BRILLIANT album. It included the nearly 18 minute epic “Anesthetize.” It was followed by “The Incident,” also on Roadrunner. (Review link: https://www.facebook.com/share/jeeT59185935nRyx/?mibextid=oFDknk) It contains the 55 minute title track, which was broken into 14 tracks on the CD, and a second disc of unrelated tracks.
In the interim between “Fear of a Blank Planet,” and “The Incident,” Steven Wilson released his first solo album (under his own name, as the first few PT albums were really solo albums) titled “Insurgentes.” Following “The Incident,” PT would go on hiatus as Wilson chose to focus on his solo career. He would release five more solo albums between 2011 and 2021. I reviewed some of them as well (see links in the comments). Also worth noting, many classic prog bands have invited Steven Wilson to re-mix some of the classic back catalogs, including Yes, Jethro Tull and many others. Many believed it was the end of Porcupine Tree. However, unbeknownst to the public, Wilson, Barbieri and Harrison were collaborating on new songs for a decade. As I understand it, Colin Edwin wasn’t EXcluded as such, but he never made any efforts to be INcluded. Teasers began turning up in October 2021 and an official announcement was made on November 1. 2021 that a new album was coming in June of 2022. The album, called “Closure/Continuation,” or “C/C.” I have not yet become very familiar with this album yet, and plan to review it for #scottssongbysong in the future. The ensuing tour included Nate Navarro on bass, and Randy McStine on guitar.
Over the past 32 years, Porcupine Tree have become one of the most influential and loved modern progressive rock bands; and that’s no joke!
(links, pt. 1)
Here are YouTube links to some of my favorite PT tracks by album:
(Note, on the first 2 albums, I went with my gut, as I don’t know them as well.)
Radioactive Toy
From “Up the Downstair”
The title track:
From “The Sky Moves Sideways”
Dislocated Day
From “Signify”
Waiting (Phase 1):
Waiting (Phase 2)
From “Stupid Dream”
Even Less
Piano Lessons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQeaHtoeQFA... (Official Music Video, about a minute shorter than the album version.)
From “Lightbulb Sun”
Shesmovedon
From “Recordings”
Even Less full 14 minute version:
(links pt. 2) I recommend starting with the "In Absentia" songs, and going from there, especially "Blackest Eyes."
From “In Absentia”
Trains:
Lips of Ashes
The Sound of Muzak
From “Deadwing”
Lazarus
Halo
Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
From “Fear of a Blank Planet”
Anestethetize:
Way out of Here
From “The Incident”
(The first 2 tracks are portions of the 55 minute long title song, which is divided into 14 portions on the album, the third one is not.)
Drawing the Line:
Time Flies:
Remember Me Lover:
From “Closure/Continuation”
Harridan:
Of the New Day:
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